I want to make some bo and jo staffs and was wondering what wood to use. It would have to be light, strong, and not splinter. Also, are there techniques used to treat the wood to "seal" it so it won't splinter?
I can buy them already made, but I'm looking for a project!
Thanks.
maple is a good wood to use (ive made 2 bo's from it in the past) Stained the both a deep black - they came out great.
or if u have the $$$ us something exotic like purple heart.
Sealed them both w/ poly. U want something w/ a really tight grain.
Ash is what many baseball bats are made from. I'd probably wipe on a good urethane finish for protection.
Barry
Japanese oak would be traditional (hence my request up above)
Sorry, I meant to add to my previous reply: Danish oil gives a good finish, in my experince (bokken making rather than Jo, but hey ho.)
Teak is normally used for weapons.
There is nothing better than making your own bo. way to go !! you need to split the bo because it will warp if you don't. also, make sure you store it correctly. (personal experience ....)
Purple heart wood... nice stuff for a bo.
Thanks to all who have replied.
Dumb question...what do you mean by splitting the wood?? I imagine that it has something to do with the grain direction, but I want to be sure.
Thanks from a wood novice!
I made a combat "short staff", around 35" long for a friend who's into this sort of thing. It was intended for full contact use (at least on other staves).
Since hickory is hard to get in the UK, I used good a grade ash.
The surface was planed and "boned", the same process applied to baseball bats. This (pre)compresses the surface fibres, rendering the surface more resistant to knocks, and it also puts a gloss on. Final finishing was raw linseed, just 2-3 coats.
According to reports from my friend the staff held up well.
You need to use something strong and shiny, so I used my scraper burnisher, which is mirror finished, and around Rc 64...
Rattan. I take stick fighting classes here locally and that is what our staffs are made of. SH
One of the cool things about rattan is the way they will spark if you hit them together at just the right angle. In case you've never seen this, go into a darkened room and hit two of them at a glancing blow (i.e. not directly at each other) so there is some slide between them. Try holding one still and hitting it with the other.
Can you explain 'boning' to me, in this context, please?
"There's nothin' like a good piece of hickory."
-Clint Eastwood, "Pale Rider"
Hope it helps.
-Phil Crow
And all this time I thought I was just seeing stars
jsp wrote in news:ewpXc.599$Ch2.54@newsfe2- gui.ntli.net:
In US baseball, one can occaisionally see players rubbing down their bats' surfaces using some sort of hard device. Traditionally, this was some sort of bone left after braising/boiling meat (ham bone, maybe?) I assume almost any large, smooth HARD tool would do. As bugbear said, it compresses the surface, and according to tradition, makes the bat last longer, and the ball go further, faster.
Baseball players will believe almost anything. Tradition and superstition make it one of the more charming portions of modern US culture.
I can see where it would likely have a 'more than decorative' effect on a fighting staff.
(now veering off topic even further...)
BTW, more baseball bats are being made of hard maple these days, often from Canada. The properties which make this change desirable may not be applicable to your project, however.
Patriarch, from a long, and continuing line of baseball fans...
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